National Republican., 1887-11-24
THE WONDERS OF ELECTRICITY.
A New Motor That Promises Revo-
luton in PropeiIing street Cars and
Light Machinery.

A New Motor That Promises q Revo-
luton in PropelIing street Cars and
Light Machinery.
[st Louis Republican,
To the companies which are already com
mitted to the expenditure Of vast amounts
Of money in the construction OF cable lines,
the news will hardly be welcome than an
electric motor has been discovered which
promises to meet all Of the demands Of
street-car traffic, at cost that is merely
trlflng when compared with the cost Of
operating cable. When several st. Louis
companies determined year ago or less to
adopt the cable system, they did 80 under
the conviction that, while electric motors
were all well enough IN theory, the obsta-
| cles to their successful practice were so
numerous as TO make IL unwise to wait for
their development. The amazing progress
| OF the age will be well illustrated II the car
| which Is now In course OF construction In
| one Of the largest shops IN Brooklyn, on the
order Of st. Louis street railroad prtsi-
dent, shall prove to be the simple, yet mar
velous, draft machine which Il promises.
the works few days ago and, despite q
very stubborn scepticism, was made con-
| vert to the belief that the great problem
has been solved.
Until now formidable fault OF electric
motors has been, that for each horse power
Of driving force obtained, the car had to
| carry apparatus and materials weighing
three or four hundred pounds. SO that In
order to give motive force sufficient for all
| contingencies the cars would necessarily
have to be vehicles Of tremendous weight
nearly as heavy empty as loaded. In
short, like the cable system, the greater
part OF the driving power would be wasted
In carrying dead weight. Those inventions
which oyercame the objection OF dead
weight did so by means Of wires or rails
| overhead or below, which communicated
with the machinery In the car, aud thus
| conducted the electrical force. In the busy
streets of u city the overhead wire was, OF
course, not to be thought OF, while both
modes OF communication were at all times,
and especially in wet weather, liable to
| such conditions as would render them prac-
tically ineffective. Another serious fault
OF the old systems was the necessity for
carrying such charges Of electricity as might
be dangerous to human life, and still an
other was the bulkiness Of the gearing for
transmitting he motion from the motor to
the wheels Of the car,
The motor which promises the coming
sensation Is actuated by q current OF eec.
tricity so light that that which furnishes q
single horsepower is hardly perceptble to
the most SO nsitive touch, and gives no ap
| preciable shock. The machine itself is SO
compact that one OF sufficient size to run a
eewiDg.machine with ease will fit into au
ordinary plug hat. A three horsepower
motor Is hardly larger than cheese box,
an nn eight horsepower is only about
double that size. While formerly 1t has re
quired 300 pounds or more of wight tc
represent one horse power, the new motor
exerting the force OF horsepower
weighs but 100 pounds, and the same abso
Lutte proportion OF weight Is carried to any
larger machine. In all motors In the past
large and heavy coils or spools Of wire have
been made to revolve In proximity to 0
series Of armatures. This meant grea
rapldity of wear, great liability to accident
from hot boxes, &c. In the new motor the
spools or coils are stationary, and smooth
steel cylinder or coil, with small arms serv.
ing as armatures, revolve with no more liza
bility to accident than an ordinary driving
pulley. Set one OF the small motors on
writing desk and touch the wire which
completes the electrical circuit, aud Il
starts of In whirr Of several hundred
revolutions per minute, but its motion is a:
smooth as a lathe In watch factory, ant
Its inventor cIBims that 1t will drive a sew
ing machine all day at a cost Of cents.
Such machine, on larger scale, is pu
intoa street car, occupying possibly a
much space as single passenger. The
battery, which furnishes It's power, consists
Of several cases Of jars placed under the
car seats, and constituting nothing danger
GUS even though handled by children o
meddlers. The machine keeps In constant
motion, even when the car Is stopped, ant
eommunieatesunder the car floor with
motor itself, by which the power Is con
yeyed to the axles Of the car wheels. Thi
apparatus involves an absolutely nev
mechanical movement lone by which, II
a cylindrical box one foot In diameter, |
accomplished the same result that is reache
by working siX-foot cogwheel into four
inch cogwheel. This mechani ism is con
stantly in motion while the car Is Ia use
When the car is to be started from stand
still, and great power and slow movemen
are required. the machine communicate
motion to the axle with q speed one
eighteenth of that OF the electrical motto
which drives 1t, and with corresponding
accumulation OF power. When the car 1
under headway, aud less strength Ia r,
quired to drive it,, motion OF tn
operators hand changes the actio
OF the machiue so as to II
crease it to give the highest speed desired
and all this without throwing any cogs ou
Of gear, without any belt or fast and loos
pulleys-with nothing hut contrivanc
composed of not more than six or seve
stror @ pieces OF metal. The operator stand
on the front platform OF the car control
the motor with switch lever, aud contro
the car with the ordinary crank brake no
In use. Simple, cheap, powerful, and wit
exceedingly slight liability to disorder, tn
motor, invented In all its parts by Pro
Main, and handled by the River and Ra
Company, of which Mr.. George l.. Wrigh
formerly of st. Louis, is the controlin
spirit. 1t is hoped that within FIVE or 81
weeks car, fully equipped, will be
, operation in st. Louis, and unless all sigI
fail the entire street car business will
: revolutionized within year.
The motor is not confined In Its usefu
8 ness to street car service, OF course, but wi
t drive any machine that steam will driv,
The connecting mechanism, on the otht
: hand, will probably find place In all m
Q chimes where an exchange OF speed I,
| nnwar Is To he effectpd within q sma